ESG Legal Secondment Programme

The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Legal Secondment Programme (LSP) is a secondment initiative by the Ministry of Law. It places Singapore-qualified lawyers into corporate sustainability teams, where they work on live ESG projects. Secondees gain practical ESG experience, sharpen commercial acumen, and return ready to strengthen their law firms’ ESG practice.

WHY IT MATTERS

Sustainability is no longer optional – it is transforming how companies operate, invest, and report. Across the world, businesses face increasing scrutiny from regulators, investors, and customers on their ESG performance.

Singapore is positioning itself as a regional leader in sustainable finance, carbon markets, and green infrastructure. According to PwC, sustainability-related legal work in Singapore is projected to grow from S$180M in 2023 to S$500M by 2033.

For the legal sector, this represents a major growth opportunity. Law firms with practical ESG expertise will be better positioned to capture high-value mandates and advise clients with confidence.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE

Law firms:

  • Must be a Singapore Law Practice (SLP) with an existing ESG practice

  • Committed to retain the secondee as an employee during the secondment, and to reintegrate the secondee into ESG work upon return

Host organisations:

  • Corporates with active or emerging ESG agendas

  • Must have sustainability teams based in Singapore (e.g., ESG units, in-house legal, compliance, procurement)

  • Be able to appoint a supervisor, provide ESG projects, and facilitate overseas exposure if relevant

Secondees (lawyers):

  • Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident who is Singapore-qualified, employed by a Singapore Law Practice

  • Ideally, has between 5 and 8 years of post-qualification experience

  • Able to commit to a minimum secondment duration of 6 months

The full programme factsheet can be accessed here.

Interested participants can fill in this Expression of Interest Form. If you have any queries, you can write to us at MLAW_IndustryEngagements@mlaw.gov.sg.